SAN DIEGO – Why do some children respond differently to medications than others? Pharmacogenomics is giving physicians a better understanding of differential responses and how to tailor treatment choices to individual patients’ genetic makeup.
Pharmacogenomics’ goal is to move away from the waste and potential dangers inherent in the typical empiric approach to medications, explained Dr. Marc Williams, director of the Geisinger Genomic Medicine Institute in Scranton, Pa. Instead, “our sort-of mantra is ‘the rights’: the right person with the right medication at the right time for the right reasons.”
In a video interview at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Williams talks about the promise of pharmacogenomics and the challenges faced in bringing genomic knowledge into pediatric clinical practice.